So far, he's raised $12 million out of $40 million planned. He should have no problem raising the remaining $28 million. Conway is a legend in the Valley, deeply connected to every corner of the technology industry, thanks to his prolific funding of startups.

Conway was making "angel" investments long before angel investing was cool. He has been doing it for so long, and so prolifically, that he has revolutionized the angel business: A look at his investments since 2005 reveals his SV Angel fund alone has put money into at least 228 companies.

Conway's prolific method of investing may strike outsiders as odd, but it's clearly working for him and his companies and a whole generation of Valley entrepreneurs. It has made him money, and landed him right at the nexus of Silicon Valley's power players. It has also made him one of the most powerful--and feared--players in the Valley.

Conway is so powerful and so feared, in fact, that almost no one we spoke to about him was willing to go on the record. Most people we spoke to were scared that Conway would retaliate against them -- and ruin them. One person observed that Conway isn't called "The Godfather" for nothing.

"The Godfather of Silicon Valley"

Ron Conway's angel investing has been portrayed, at times by himself, as an act of near charity. He says he's doing it for the entrepreneurs, not to make money.

Last year, when a group of angel investors were said to be colluding to keep valuations low, Conway rebuked the other angels in an impassioned email where he wrote, "I invest because I love helping entrepreneurs and watching them learn and succeed."

He also said of his fellow angel investors, "In my opinion your motives are driven by self serving factors around ego satisfaction and 'making a buck'. My motives and values are very different."

But, for all of his rah-rah, feel-good talk, Conway is a bare-knuckled bruiser who will bully, and intimidate, fellow investors and his own entrepreneurs if they cross him, or do something he doesn't like.

BusinessWeek recently reported that a former Twitter employee who refused to sell his shares in Twitter to Conway's Twitter fund felt threatened by Conway. While that employee and Conway have since cleared up their issues, the former Twitter employee wasn't the only person who's felt threatened for doing something Conway didn't like.

After covering the Twitter story, we heard from multiple entrepreneurs and investors about Conway. Much of what we heard was complimentary: There's a reason he's a legend, and people clamor to get investments from him. But alongside the glowing reviews was an undercurrent of fear. Some people think he has too much power. And some people say he abuses it.

What emerged was a portrait of an intimidating man who has more power in Silicon Valley than many outsiders know and many insiders feel comfortable with. What also emerged is that, as with many powerful people, Conway's influence comes from a combination of positive forces and negative ones. Many people in the Valley want Conway's help. Many people are also so scared of him that they won't risk crossing him.

As one source put it, "When people call Ron, 'The Godfather of Silicon Valley,' they don't know how true that is."

What follows is a profile of Conway based on speaking with numerous high level, veteran Valley players. Conway declined to comment for this story.